• PM Shehbaz thanks CJP Afridi, former Judge Isa for the Fund Transfer.
• Ensures that the government has no link to varsys administration.
• The institution’s first section is expected to operate by August 2026.

Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has laid the foundation of Daanish University, a project worth £ 190 million (RS 60 billion).

By tackling the groundbreaking ceremony in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz expressed gratitude to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and the former Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to facilitate the transfer of £ 190 million to the national treasury.

The funds that will be used to establish Varsity were returned to Pakistan by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) followed by a subsequent transfer from the Supreme Court to the Federal Government’s report.

The amount relates to the £ 190 case in which the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced to 14-year-old and seven-year-olds for their involvement in al-Qadir Trust scandal regarding “adjustment” of £ 190 million worth of a property given by UK’s NCA under Khan’s Tenure.

It was decided that the money would be submitted to SC on behalf of the businessman in question, but the al-Qadir Trust was created a few weeks later after an agreement-striking for the purpose of providing legal coverage to the black money received from the NCA-with real estate mogul.

When we talked to the occasion, the prime minister said that students from all four provinces would have access to higher education at the university with free education for underprivileged children.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Daanish University would establish himself as a global institution with top-level faculty, research centers and academic expertise. The university’s first section is expected to be operational by August 14, 2026.

Noting that students from all over the country would get registration for various faculties at the university solely on the basis of profits, the prime minister said a trust would be established and initially the government would give RS10 billion as freedom money and later, it would run on the amount collected from fees for wealthy students while the poor students would be helped.

To reveal that the names of the Board of Directors of Daanish University had been completed so that the brilliant minds could contribute, Prime Minister Shehbaz assured that the government would have no relation to its functions and administration as it would work autonomously.

Minister of Planning Ahsan Iqbal emphasized that the project was funded by public money, which the previous government had allegedly deprived of the nation.

Daanish University, said Iqbal, would be the next level where they would prepare the workforce for the industrial revolution and would include necessary facilities to provide education in AI, biotechnology, robotics, space science and other new technologies through applied research to create a platform to fill the gap between academia and industries.

The Minister also noted that the government would also seek global partnerships for the transfer of technology and to ensure that this institution should provide technology leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs.